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Cognitive Labby Educator Today

Cognitive Lab · by Educator Today

The science of learning. Made visible.

Explore how attention, memory, emotion and thinking shape learning. Discover the evidence, experience the science, and design better classroom instruction.

Find your teaching pathwayExplore the science
Conceptual model of how classroom information becomes long-term learningMany incoming signals reach attention, which lets only a few through to working memory. Working memory has limited capacity. Prior knowledge from long-term memory helps organise new information there, and what is processed can be stored. Retrieval brings stored knowledge back into working memory, which strengthens it.ATTENTIONWORKING MEMORYlimited capacityLONG-TERM MEMORYprior knowledgestorageretrievalstrengthens recall
Conceptual model, not anatomy. A simplification drawn from cognitive psychology models of memory; it does not show where these processes happen in the brain.

Start from your classroom

What would you like your students to become better at?

Pick the challenge closest to what you see in lessons. Each one leads to a pathway through the relevant science, a demonstration, and a plan you can try.

Where the Lab stands · Oct 2026

Domains mapped
6
Modules available (draft)
4
In development
3
Peer-reviewed sources cited
44
External expert reviews
0

How to read this site

Three kinds of statement, never blurred together.

Research summaries often slide from what a study found, to what it might mean, to what teachers should do. We separate those steps and label each one.

  1. Established finding

    What the studies found

    Converging evidence from multiple studies, including reviews or meta-analyses.

  2. Interpretation

    What it might mean

    A plausible explanation or extension of the evidence that is still debated or less tested.

  3. Classroom application

    What teachers might try

    A suggested way to use the evidence in teaching. Not itself directly tested in every form.

Featured module · D2 Memory & Learning

Retrieval practice

Trying to recall something is not only a way of checking memory — it changes memory. The first complete module in the Lab, in seven parts: understand, visualise, examine the evidence, experience a demonstration, teach, measure and reflect.

Available · draft
Open the moduleTry the demonstration

Fig. 1 — The retrieval cycle

Established finding
A cycle of five stages: cue, search, response, feedback and updated memory, which returns to the next cue.CueA question or promptSearchEffortful recall attemptResponseAnswer, partial or wrongFeedbackCorrect answer shownMemoryUpdated for next timerepeat, spaced
A schematic of a single retrieval practice episode. The elements shown — a cue, an attempt to recall, and feedback — reflect common features of research designs, not a model of brain processes.

Six domains

Start from a question, not a buzzword.

Domain index

Teaching strategies

From finding to Monday morning.

Classroom applications of retrieval practice for each phase of school. Each card shows which labelled claims it draws on — and what to watch for.

All strategies

Showing 6 of 6 strategies

  • Elementary5 minutes · lesson opening

    Picture-cue recall

    Show a single image from a previous lesson and ask pupils to tell a partner everything they remember about it.

    1. Display one familiar image without labels.
    2. Pupils whisper what they remember to a partner.
    3. Gather ideas aloud and confirm or gently correct each one.
    Adapt
    Offer sentence starters such as “I remember that…” for pupils who need language support.
    Watch for
    Keep it playful and ungraded; the aim is effortful recall, not performance.

    Draws on 3 labelled claims

    Established findingClassroom application

  • Elementary3–6 minutes · any point

    Show-me boards

    Every pupil writes or draws an answer on a mini whiteboard and holds it up at the same time.

    1. Ask one short question about earlier learning.
    2. Allow quiet thinking time before anyone writes.
    3. On “show me”, all boards go up; address common errors immediately.
    Adapt
    Accept drawings, single words or symbols where writing is still developing.
    Watch for
    Avoid public comparison of individual boards; focus feedback on the whole class.

    Draws on 2 labelled claims

    Established finding

  • Middle School8 minutes · lesson opening

    Retrieval grid

    A short set of questions drawn from last lesson, last week and last month, so recall is spaced across time.

    1. Prepare questions from three time points.
    2. Students answer individually without notes.
    3. Review answers together; students correct in a different colour.
    Adapt
    Provide a word bank for the oldest material if recall is very low at first.
    Watch for
    Do not record scores; the grid is for learning, not grading.

    Draws on 3 labelled claims

    Established findingClassroom application

  • Middle School4 minutes · before new content

    Predict-first questions

    Ask students to attempt questions about a topic before it is taught, then return to the same questions afterwards.

    1. Pose two or three questions on the upcoming topic.
    2. Students commit to an answer, even a guess.
    3. Revisit the same questions at the end of the lesson.
    Adapt
    Frame wrong guesses as expected and useful, and say so explicitly.
    Watch for
    Make sure correct answers are clearly given afterwards so errors are not retained.

    Draws on 2 labelled claims

    Established finding

  • High School10 minutes · review or homework

    Blank-page recall

    Students write everything they can recall about a topic on a blank page, then check against their notes and fill gaps.

    1. Name the topic; students close all resources.
    2. Write or sketch everything recalled, including connections.
    3. Open notes and annotate omissions and errors in another colour.
    Adapt
    Provide headings as cues for students who freeze at a blank page.
    Watch for
    Some students find this uncomfortable at first; explain why effortful recall is useful.

    Draws on 3 labelled claims

    Established findingInterpretationClassroom application

  • High School10 minutes · weekly

    Cumulative low-stakes quizzes

    Short weekly quizzes that include material from earlier units, followed by error analysis rather than a grade.

    1. Mix recent and older questions in each quiz.
    2. Return answers quickly with explanations.
    3. Students categorise their errors: forgot, misunderstood or misread.
    Adapt
    Include application questions alongside recall to encourage transfer.
    Watch for
    Keep stakes low; heavily weighted quizzes may undermine the benefit.

    Draws on 3 labelled claims

    Classroom applicationInterpretation

Teacher Studio · preview

A lesson, laid out as a blueprint.

How a single retrieval-first lesson might be sequenced. Teacher Studio will let you adapt blueprints like this one to your own subject.

Lesson blueprint · preview · Middle School

A retrieval-first lesson

Begin with effortful, low-stakes recall of earlier learning; connect it to new content; close by retrieving the new idea.

Example: Year 7 science — states of matter · 50 min

  1. Retrieve6 min

    Teacher
    Displays a retrieval grid from last lesson, last week and last month.
    Students
    Answer individually, without notes.

  2. Feedback5 min

    Teacher
    Reveals answers with brief explanations; addresses common errors.
    Students
    Correct and annotate in a second colour.

  3. Connect4 min

    Teacher
    Poses a predict-first question about today’s topic.
    Students
    Commit to an answer and a reason.

  4. New learning25 min

    Teacher
    Explicit explanation and worked examples; returns to the predict-first question.
    Students
    Practise with guidance, then independently.

  5. Close10 min

    Teacher
    Asks for a blank-page summary of today’s key idea.
    Students
    Recall, then check against the lesson’s key points.
A suggested sequence, not a tested lesson plan. Editable blueprints will be part of Teacher Studio, which is in development.